Kenya: Inflation falls to over five-year low in September
Latest reading: Inflation plummeted to 3.6% in September from August’s 4.4%, marking the lowest inflation rate since May 2019. Looking at the details of the release, the slowdown largely reflected a sharp decline in price pressures for transport plus housing and utilities. Moreover, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as clothing and footwear, grew at a softer pace in September.
As a result, the trend pointed down, with annual average inflation coming in at 5.5% in September (August: 5.8%).
Finally, consumer prices rose 0.19% in September over the previous month, swinging from August’s 0.05% drop.
Panelist insight: Oxford Economics’ Shani Smit-Lengton commented:
“We forecast headline inflation to moderate to 4.8% in 2024 due to lower fuel and food price inflation. Kenyan motorists have benefited from a drop in Brent crude prices in recent months, which has filtered through to domestic pump prices. Given that we forecast global oil prices to remain on a downward trajectory in the near term, we expect fuel price inflation to remain subdued.”